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Internet Safety Tips for You and Your Kids

January 26, 2016
Remember when your Mac Kid was little and you could call up your mom and get advice on teething or potty training? It was great having someone who had "been there, done that" to offer suggestions and support. But for those of us with older kids, we've now encountered an area the grandparents can't help with - internet safety!

We are the first generation of parents having to wade through the confusion of setting online limits. While the world wide web can provide amazing educational and entertainment opportunities, it can also bring online dangers for both you and your kids.

The best way to protect your children online is to keep the lines of communication open. Ask them what they like to do online, what games and sites do they like to visit? Show interest in what they are doing and visit their favorite sites and online games with them. As you play together, you should also talk about the benefits and dangers of the internet. Sit down as a family and come up with internet guidelines - how much screen time a day, which sites are off-limits, and what information is okay to share online. Remind your kids to come to you anytime something happens online that makes them feel uncomfortable. Keep the family computer in a high traffic area of the house and post the family rules near it to help everyone stay on track!

As your kids get older and sign up for social media sites, remind them that personal information should remain private. Addresses, phone numbers, even school names should be left off of profile pages. Ask them if they are communicating with anyone online and what they are talking about.

Parental control software can be a big help in keeping your family safe online. After installing it, you can block certain sites, limit the amount of time spent online and keep an eye on your child's IM accounts to ensure they aren't chatting with strangers/predators.

While these tips seem to be directed at the kids in our lives, internet safety is just as important for adults. From identity theft to account hacking to stalking, online dangers are present for mom and dad too.

Just as we tell our kids, our personal info should remain private on social media too. Be careful of posting pictures that show your home address, license plate on your car or sharing pictures or posts that let people know you are out of town and your home is empty.

For professional reasons, you want to consider what you share as well. More and more businesses are Googling potential hires and finding unflattering pictures and posts that can backfire when it comes to finding employment.

Beware of phishing! Identity thieves often send emails that appear to be from a legitimate company, like your bank, asking you to confirm personal info such as account numbers and passwords. Always check with the business to see if they are trying to contact you before sharing any information!

When setting up online accounts, choose a strong password. A good password contains 8 or more characters, both numbers and letters, special characters like %, * or !, and upper and lowercase letters. As easy as it would be to use the same password for all of your online accounts, it is not recommended. Once an identity thief figures out that one password, he's got access to everything. Change your password from site to site and keep a list of all of your passwords in a safe place.

Sexual predators are the scariest online dangers for both adults and children. Many predators will "groom" their potential victims by pretending to have common interests and listening to a child's frustrations and taking their side against the parents. As hard as it is, you must talk to your kids about the dangers that exist online. Stress to them that they can always come to you if something makes them feel uncomfortable and that they will not get in trouble for telling you about it. If they have a new online "friend", insist on being introduced to them online.

As adults, if you meet someone online via dating sites or chat rooms and decide to meet in person, only do so in a public place. Always tell a friend where you are going and promise to check in after your meeting.

I know all of this can make the internet sound like a horrible, scary place, but with open communication and a few guidelines, you and your family can safely navigate online. Educate your kids and yourself so that you can all make the best, safest decisions both online and in the real world.